I received a form included with our 2019 dues asking for a lot of personal information, and no letter stating why they need it or what they will do with it. I have tried calling the management company and it rings until it goes to a mailbox that is full, so I don't know if they are already gone for the day or people are calling en masse to complain.

They want to know who the homeowner is, who all of the occupants are, a list of all children's names and DOB, all pets and descriptions, all emails and phone numbers (including work #'s, emergency contact information, and the make, model, color, year, and license plate numbers for all cars, and homeowner insurance information. They also want a signed affidavit stating that all of my information is correct.

Do other HOA's do this? I'm concerned about what they will do if I refuse to give them this information. We do not live in a private, gated community. Any cars can come and go as the streets are public and there is a city owned park in the middle of our subdivision. If we saw what we thought was a suspicious car, we would call the police and not the HOA. Any parking rule violations and animal complaints would go to the police and not the HOA. Unless the covenants have been changed and no one was informed, there are no rules about renting, occupancy, or number of pets allowed in the homes. Those are all covered under city regulations.

If you live in an HOA and have come across this form, were you fined if you did not offer the information? I'm concerned that they think they are entitled to know this as it is titled as an annual census form.

I received a form included with our 2019 dues asking for a lot of personal information, and no letter stating why they need it or what they will do with it. I have tried calling the management company and it rings until it goes to a mailbox that is full, so I don't know if they are already gone for the day or people are calling en masse to complain.

They want to know who the homeowner is, who all of the occupants are, a list of all children's names and DOB, all pets and descriptions, all emails and phone numbers (including work #'s, emergency contact information, and the make, model, color, year, and license plate numbers for all cars, and homeowner insurance information. They also want a signed affidavit stating that all of my information is correct.

Do other HOA's do this? I'm concerned about what they will do if I refuse to give them this information. We do not live in a private, gated community. Any cars can come and go as the streets are public and there is a city owned park in the middle of our subdivision. If we saw what we thought was a suspicious car, we would call the police and not the HOA. Any parking rule violations and animal complaints would go to the police and not the HOA. Unless the covenants have been changed and no one was informed, there are no rules about renting, occupancy, or number of pets allowed in the homes. Those are all covered under city regulations.

If you live in an HOA and have come across this form, were you fined if you did not offer the information? I'm concerned that they think they are entitled to know this as it is titled as an annual census form.

My HOA asks for basically the same information. Part of it is for emergency contact info, primarily for water and gs issues. Part of it is to control landlords and renters. We have had issues with landlords renting units and not complying with the rules.

We don't have a signed affiliated, we don't ask for dates of birth. That seems excessive.

Our HOA has no information on us beyond the public record. I cannot see why they would need much more than that, and they may not be able to legally require a lot of information about you.

At this point, I'd say ignore it.

“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” J.R.R. Tolkien,The Lord of the Rings

No. From what papers I have from when we moved in 10 years ago, it doesn't seem that anything other than the 3 pages of covenants were agreed to. They basically say no RV parking, keep the property up to standards, and you have to pay your dues. I haven't signed anything since and the last set of covenants we received was a few years ago. I'm assuming that it says somewhere something to the affect of, "If you continue to live here, you agree to abide by all rules set by each board, regardless if we notify you of them or not."

This is the type of nuisance form that, regardless of the source (unless it's the IRS or state government), I routinely ignore.

If it's important, eventually someone with authority and knowledge will find you and reach you, at which point you can find out exactly why the other party thinks you are required to give the information, and you can then make a decision about complying with the request.

If you are legally part of the HOA , you should give basic info: names and emergency number.

I live in a condo with an association. Last year one of the condo owner’s died. There was no emergency contact, etc held by anyone including the association. The sheriff came and posted proceedings on the condo - the dead don’t pay their mortgage.

Having emergency contact would have helped.

Last edited by Dottie57 on Tue Dec 04, 2018 5:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

We had something similar two years ago, but not including children's info and not homeowners insurance info.

As will satisfy most bureaucrats, I filled out entire form neatly and completely. But only the relevant, needed info was accurate. I had no issue with providing the basic contact information though, and mortgage holder. Had they asked for insurance provider, I would have supplied that. Even though we're a small association (79 units), nobody questioned my Lambo or my wife's DeLorean. Many of our neighbors said they didn't turn it in and there was no definitely followup in our case. Nor has there since been any effort to keep it updated in our association.

Edited to add context for the OP: In our case, we are legally a condo association. These are single-family detached condos (site condos), no gates, no amenities, no structural maintenance. The association is responsible for lawn maintenance, roads, snow removal and only a very few other things. So we are more of a hybrid between a full condo association and a typical neighborhood hoa. Our bylaws are absolutely silent on all this info, but others may not be.

Last edited by DetroitRick on Wed Dec 05, 2018 9:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

I received a form included with our 2019 dues asking for a lot of personal information, and no letter stating why they need it or what they will do with it. I have tried calling the management company and it rings until it goes to a mailbox that is full, so I don't know if they are already gone for the day or people are calling en masse to complain.

They want to know who the homeowner is, who all of the occupants are, a list of all children's names and DOB, all pets and descriptions, all emails and phone numbers (including work #'s, emergency contact information, and the make, model, color, year, and license plate numbers for all cars, and homeowner insurance information. They also want a signed affidavit stating that all of my information is correct.

Do other HOA's do this? I'm concerned about what they will do if I refuse to give them this information. We do not live in a private, gated community. Any cars can come and go as the streets are public and there is a city owned park in the middle of our subdivision. If we saw what we thought was a suspicious car, we would call the police and not the HOA. Any parking rule violations and animal complaints would go to the police and not the HOA. Unless the covenants have been changed and no one was informed, there are no rules about renting, occupancy, or number of pets allowed in the homes. Those are all covered under city regulations.

If you live in an HOA and have come across this form, were you fined if you did not offer the information? I'm concerned that they think they are entitled to know this as it is titled as an annual census form.

Not at all normal.

My HOA wanted to know where the bills go.

It is ADVISABLE to give contact information- indeed multiple contacts- in the event of an emergency.

It is reasonable to ask for unit insurance information (and sometimes you have agreed to make the HOA a beneficiary).

Car information makes sense only if there are assigned parking spaces.

The information they are ENTITLED to ask for would be spelled out in your documents.

It sounds to me that someone felt that a form with only a few lines on it needed to have more lines. They should get slapped down.

Don't forget- management works for you (through your representatives on the board).

I've lived in a couple of different single family detached home subdivisions, and my HOAs have only ever asked for owner name(s), phone number and email for the HOA directory. They send out all notices and meeting minutes by email now to save money, so providing an email makes sense to me. Phone number also makes sense in case of some emergency. That's all, and no affidavit required. The list that your HOA requested sounds like someone got really, really carried away. I'd ignore it, and I would guess a lot of residents will do the same. If you feel obligated to reply somehow, I'd just fill out the bare minimum you're willing to provide (basically email and/or phone number) and ignore the rest.

I'd ignore it, and I would guess a lot of residents will do the same. If you feel obligated to reply somehow, I'd just fill out the bare minimum you're willing to provide (basically email and/or phone number) and ignore the rest.

That form oversteps any reasonable legitimate needs. Contact the HOA board president. Ask lots of questions, but be polite and constructive. Chances are the board is a bunch of unpaid volunteer homeowners. Be assertive but remember these are your neighbors. Appeal to being neighbors. Better yet, get involved. Go to the HOA meetings. Be helpful. Run for the board. I know from experience, sometimes one has to engineer a bit of a takeover of the board to bring it back to reasonableness. But change won’t happen without your involvement.

There are stars in the Southern sky |
And if ever you decide you should go |
There is a taste of time sweetened honey |
Down the Seven Bridges Road

There's no way I would provide the HOA with my children's names and dates of birth. However, I would give them my email address and phone number in case they need to contact me in the event of emergency (i.e., house is burning down and I am at work kind of thing).

As will satisfy most bureaucrats, I filled out entire form neatly and completely. But only the relevant, needed info was accurate.....Even though we're a small association (79 units), nobody questioned my Lambo or my wife's DeLorean.

Priceless, DetroitRick! (and thanks for the belly laugh you just provided me)

OP, I don't know that I'd have the stones or willingness to spend the time to do what DetroitRick did, but I do admire it. Personally, like others upthread, I'd just ignore the request.

As will satisfy most bureaucrats, I filled out entire form neatly and completely. But only the relevant, needed info was accurate.....Even though we're a small association (79 units), nobody questioned my Lambo or my wife's DeLorean.

Priceless, DetroitRick! (and thanks for the belly laugh you just provided me)

OP, I don't know that I'd have the stones or willingness to spend the time to do what DetroitRick did, but I do admire it. Personally, like others upthread, I'd just ignore the request.

What a bunch of sissy complainers. Have “the stones” to ‘spend the time’ and actually get involved with the HOA. The board are neighbors not bureaucrats. Have the stones to step up, man.

There are stars in the Southern sky |
And if ever you decide you should go |
There is a taste of time sweetened honey |
Down the Seven Bridges Road

As will satisfy most bureaucrats, I filled out entire form neatly and completely. But only the relevant, needed info was accurate.....Even though we're a small association (79 units), nobody questioned my Lambo or my wife's DeLorean.

Priceless, DetroitRick! (and thanks for the belly laugh you just provided me)

OP, I don't know that I'd have the stones or willingness to spend the time to do what DetroitRick did, but I do admire it. Personally, like others upthread, I'd just ignore the request.

What a bunch of sissy complainers. Have “the stones” to ‘spend the time’ and actually get involved with the HOA. The board are neighbors not bureaucrats. Have the stones to step up, man.

What a bunch of sissy complainers. Have “the stones” to ‘spend the time’ and actually get involved with the HOA. The board are neighbors not bureaucrats. Have the stones to step up, man.

Normal people just want to live their life, not bother anyone, and not be bothered. Typically those who want to get involved with HOAs are control freaks that want to tell people what to do. And the more paperwork involved in that the better.

In the case of this HOA, it's time for normal people to get involved and reign the control freaks in back to reality.

Last edited by Mingus on Wed Dec 05, 2018 1:24 am, edited 1 time in total.

I received a form included with our 2019 dues asking for a lot of personal information, and no letter stating why they need it or what they will do with it. I have tried calling the management company and it rings until it goes to a mailbox that is full, so I don't know if they are already gone for the day or people are calling en masse to complain.

They want to know who the homeowner is, who all of the occupants are, a list of all children's names and DOB, all pets and descriptions, all emails and phone numbers (including work #'s, emergency contact information, and the make, model, color, year, and license plate numbers for all cars, and homeowner insurance information. They also want a signed affidavit stating that all of my information is correct.

Do other HOA's do this? I'm concerned about what they will do if I refuse to give them this information. We do not live in a private, gated community. Any cars can come and go as the streets are public and there is a city owned park in the middle of our subdivision. If we saw what we thought was a suspicious car, we would call the police and not the HOA. Any parking rule violations and animal complaints would go to the police and not the HOA. Unless the covenants have been changed and no one was informed, there are no rules about renting, occupancy, or number of pets allowed in the homes. Those are all covered under city regulations.

If you live in an HOA and have come across this form, were you fined if you did not offer the information? I'm concerned that they think they are entitled to know this as it is titled as an annual census form.

I would not follow some of the advice here that states you should ignore the letter. Depending on how your HOA rules and regulations are written, that can result in fines and in any case, they will just mail you another one. Decide whether you want to comply or whether you want them to provide justification for their request. Do that by letter or find out who in your neighborhood is on the HOA board and contact them.

It's always good to go to HOA meetings, at least every once in awhile, to understand what's going on and so that you can try to stop some of the more crazy impulses. There's a natural tendency by the board to 'do something' and in this case it seems that they may have introduced/started/considering enforcing pet and vehicle registration policies. There might also be limitations on single family homes being used for short term tenancy or as multifamily homes - hence the requests for people in the home. I say this as someone who recently experienced the same sort of thing with my parent's HOA board. In that case, the people on the board disliked long term storage of RVs, junk cars, and single family homes being used as multifamily homes. They also had voting on a measure banning Airbnb type rentals. The board asked very similar questions except no date of births and no questions about minor children, only adult children. It had to be notarized.

One thing I learned about my parent's HOA board is that they generally resent how uninvolved most people are in it. They would actually prefer people to be more involved. It's something they do because no one else wants to (although sometimes there are the power hungry/control freak types, but that's why you should go to balance it). The only times they heard from members was when they were repeatedly asked to pay dues, someone didn't like being told to cut the waist high grass and remove the junk stored in it, and to complain about the dues level in general. If you don't like how things are going, you should attend meetings, encourage others to as well, and take over the board.

A quick google search shows that the only part of their request that is legally iffy are the DOBs of your children. Asking for your children's names are considered poor form if they are not adults. Same search shows that they can generally ask for the rest of the information that they are asking for. I would just fill it out, minus the DOBs, and send it back.

The emergency contact is in case something happens to the homeowner. This can be helpful to you as a homeowner. It can also prevent a home from needlessly going into foreclosure due to death and dragging down nearby property values. Cases might include if an elderly homeowner dies or if a family disappears or there's a fire while you're on vacation overseas, etc.

Last edited by jminv on Wed Dec 05, 2018 1:24 am, edited 1 time in total.

My state has passed laws targeting "freedom of expression" to curb certain HOA's practice of not allowing certain displays on the front yard.

As long as an HOA operates within the boundary of state laws, an HOA can impose additional requirements as agreed upon and voted in by the homeowners and their HOA reps. By living in such a community, one voluntarily gives up certain rights and freedom in return for certain benefits. If it is unacceptable to you, you should not live in such a neighborhood.

How Secure is the HOA's IT system? Do they keep current with all the patches/updates at each layer of the system? Whatever info you give them feel comfortable with it being possibly in the public domain eventually. I'd be especially careful with DOB's.

I received a form included with our 2019 dues asking for a lot of personal information, and no letter stating why they need it or what they will do with it. I have tried calling the management company and it rings until it goes to a mailbox that is full, so I don't know if they are already gone for the day or people are calling en masse to complain.

They want to know who the homeowner is, who all of the occupants are, a list of all children's names and DOB, all pets and descriptions, all emails and phone numbers (including work #'s, emergency contact information, and the make, model, color, year, and license plate numbers for all cars, and homeowner insurance information. They also want a signed affidavit stating that all of my information is correct.

Do other HOA's do this? I'm concerned about what they will do if I refuse to give them this information. We do not live in a private, gated community. Any cars can come and go as the streets are public and there is a city owned park in the middle of our subdivision. If we saw what we thought was a suspicious car, we would call the police and not the HOA. Any parking rule violations and animal complaints would go to the police and not the HOA. Unless the covenants have been changed and no one was informed, there are no rules about renting, occupancy, or number of pets allowed in the homes. Those are all covered under city regulations.

If you live in an HOA and have come across this form, were you fined if you did not offer the information? I'm concerned that they think they are entitled to know this as it is titled as an annual census form.

Regarding the bolded above, how would they be able to contact you if they don't have your information?

Long gone are the days of people knowing their neighbors, let alone people on a condo/townhome association board knowing who lives in the condos/townhomes, etc. If one of your neighbors had a heart attack in front of you while talking, besides calling 911, you probably wouldn't have any idea of a family member to call. Neither would the homeowner's association.

How many times have you heard people say, "well no one let me know, or I didn't get a phone call, or I didn't get the information." Countless. Yet here, an association board is asking for the info, and you are doubting why they request it? Maybe they want to do a monthly newsletter?

For liability reasons, if nothing other, maybe their insurance is requesting it. By living in a condo/attached townhome, etc., there is also a responsibility to others around you, whether you like it or not. Pets can be a liability--especially dogs. I don't know if it's necessary to give childrens' DOBs, but people get very uptight about giving out personal info. Sorry, but the crazy privacy laws we have in the U.S. have done no one any favors.

There is a lot that is unknown so I would not be quick to jump to conclusions.

For example if the HOA has a pool then the age of the kids could be important since there could be some insurance requirement that kids below a certain age only use the pool when accompanied by a parent.

I live in a nice development in a nice suburb type town and have never heard about any development in my area having an HOA. A request for such detailed private information feels like oppression.

It is very much location dependent.

In my area, one has to live far away from civilization in order to stay away from HOAs. And even then one may have to deal with neighbor's dog breeding business or some kind of militia tribes. No thanks.

As will satisfy most bureaucrats, I filled out entire form neatly and completely. But only the relevant, needed info was accurate.....Even though we're a small association (79 units), nobody questioned my Lambo or my wife's DeLorean.

Priceless, DetroitRick! (and thanks for the belly laugh you just provided me)

OP, I don't know that I'd have the stones or willingness to spend the time to do what DetroitRick did, but I do admire it. Personally, like others upthread, I'd just ignore the request.

What a bunch of sissy complainers. Have “the stones” to ‘spend the time’ and actually get involved with the HOA. The board are neighbors not bureaucrats. Have the stones to step up, man.

Just to clarify, I have served on the board as president, definitely not a sissy (seriously?), never complained (I'm answering the OP's question, isn't that the purpose of this board, or should I check in with you first?) - but rather just got this "done". This form took all of 60 seconds to complete anyway. Some boards are very bureaucratic (ours is a mix), most of us have seen examples, and that comment was mostly directed toward the management company anyway (clerks with forms). I learned long ago that blanks on a form will often generate further interaction, but completely filled out forms seldom do. Too bad, but tough. It works. My goal was simply to get them the info they needed, call them off on the rest, and move on.

I don't live in a gated community either and my HOA does not ask any of those questions. You can optionally give them your email address so they can send you updates (if its important but not timely they will just snail mail it even if you don't sign up). You can optionally give them the names of anyone in the house, so they will provide pool passes and some guest passes that don't require a name, but nothing is required.

Name and emergency contact information is reasonable. The rest of it I'd view as none of their business. Comply with what you feel is reasonable and leave the rest blank. The onus is on the HOA to follow-up if they still want more information and can justify it.

I'm in an HOA neighborhood and they've asked me for nothing (besides a check once a year) and I've provided nothing more than what transferred at the time of my home purchase.

As will satisfy most bureaucrats, I filled out entire form neatly and completely. But only the relevant, needed info was accurate.....Even though we're a small association (79 units), nobody questioned my Lambo or my wife's DeLorean.

Priceless, DetroitRick! (and thanks for the belly laugh you just provided me)

OP, I don't know that I'd have the stones or willingness to spend the time to do what DetroitRick did, but I do admire it. Personally, like others upthread, I'd just ignore the request.

What a bunch of sissy complainers. Have “the stones” to ‘spend the time’ and actually get involved with the HOA. The board are neighbors not bureaucrats. Have the stones to step up, man.

Just to clarify, I have served on the board as president, definitely not a sissy (seriously?), never complained (I'm answering the OP's question, isn't that the purpose of this board, or should I check in with you first?) - but rather just got this "done". This form took all of 60 seconds to complete anyway. Some boards are very bureaucratic (ours is a mix), most of us have seen examples, and that comment was mostly directed toward the management company anyway (clerks with forms). I learned long ago that blanks on a form will often generate further interaction, but completely filled out forms seldom do. Too bad, but tough. It works. My goal was simply to get them the info they needed, call them off on the rest, and move on.

Hey Rick, I withdraw the sissy complainer card. You have served on the HOA board. My comment was out of line. Please accept my apology.

Our HOA had swung to the bureaucratic, control-freak side, as suggested by other contributors here. Three of us homeowners decided we needed to step up, volunteer, get elected and help swing things back to being reasonable neighbors. We as new board members had the votes and made changes, including changing management companies as they were part of the problem.

As Jerry Garcia who said, “Somebody has to do something, and it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us.” Reasonable people need to get involved.

There are stars in the Southern sky |
And if ever you decide you should go |
There is a taste of time sweetened honey |
Down the Seven Bridges Road

Board member here. Our HOA has a form that asks similar questions. I have had the fun task of collecting these forms in person, so I grilled management and more senior board members as to WHY we need this information. These are the answers I was given.

Household info (Occupants/Kids/Pets/etc): We had a few reasons for this. 1) To make sure that you’re not renting your apartment without letting the HOA know. 2) To make sure you’re not keeping any pets beyond the HOA’s pet restrictions 3) To get everyone out in case of a fire, or in case something happens to the owner. (we don’t ask for kids DOBs, just the ages)

Vehicle info: To make sure your vehicle doesn’t get towed when we do parking checks. (Vehicles in our complex are supposed to display tags, but many people forget or lose them and never order a replacement). Also to make sure that you’re not keeping more than 2 vehicles per unit on property (which is in our bylaws)

Insurance info: We’ve never asked for this, but we do require in our bylaws that each person must be covered by a policy.

Contact info: This part is fairly obvious. Alhough, I cannot tell you how annoying it is when owners give us flat out wrong info. If you’ve given us an email address you never check or some google voice number that doesn’t ring you... don’t be mad at the association when you miss important messages. We just recently had a change in our dues payments, and many were furious they weren’t notified, only to be told they WERE notified, but at emails and phone numbers they never check.

Agreed on all counts with SevenBridgesRoad, be polite when you ask questions. I joined the board to combat some of the crazy and to help build a community. It has been a completely thankless endeavor. No one will come to a meeting, yet people love to show up on my doorstep(!!) and complain about something they don’t like. Go to meetings, get involved, have a say in your community and remember that these are all volunteers just trying to do their best.

I don't live in a gated community either and my HOA does not ask any of those questions. You can optionally give them your email address so they can send you updates (if its important but not timely they will just snail mail it even if you don't sign up). You can optionally give them the names of anyone in the house, so they will provide pool passes and some guest passes that don't require a name, but nothing is required.

You belong to an HOA. When you bought the property, you became a part of it. Unless the declarations, covenants or state law specifically prohibits it, yes they can ask for and get that type information. This type of information is commonly gathered by HOAs.

One of the reasons our HOA requires this information has to do with the age at which our children are able to utilize the pool, workout room without a parent present and operate a golf cart within the HOA. Would that be applicable to your situation?

Board member here. Our HOA has a form that asks similar questions. I have had the fun task of collecting these forms in person, so I grilled management and more senior board members as to WHY we need this information. These are the answers I was given.

Household info (Occupants/Kids/Pets/etc): We had a few reasons for this. 1) To make sure that you’re not renting your apartment without letting the HOA know. 2) To make sure you’re not keeping any pets beyond the HOA’s pet restrictions 3) To get everyone out in case of a fire, or in case something happens to the owner. (we don’t ask for kids DOBs, just the ages)

Vehicle info: To make sure your vehicle doesn’t get towed when we do parking checks. (Vehicles in our complex are supposed to display tags, but many people forget or lose them and never order a replacement). Also to make sure that you’re not keeping more than 2 vehicles per unit on property (which is in our bylaws)

Insurance info: We’ve never asked for this, but we do require in our bylaws that each person must be covered by a policy.

Contact info: This part is fairly obvious. Alhough, I cannot tell you how annoying it is when owners give us flat out wrong info. If you’ve given us an email address you never check or some google voice number that doesn’t ring you... don’t be mad at the association when you miss important messages. We just recently had a change in our dues payments, and many were furious they weren’t notified, only to be told they WERE notified, but at emails and phone numbers they never check.

Agreed on all counts with SevenBridgesRoad, be polite when you ask questions. I joined the board to combat some of the crazy and to help build a community. It has been a completely thankless endeavor. No one will come to a meeting, yet people love to show up on my doorstep(!!) and complain about something they don’t like. Go to meetings, get involved, have a say in your community and remember that these are all volunteers just trying to do their best.

This. Our HOA doesn't ask for this information but there are provisions on the by-laws for which all of this information could be needed. I wouldn't provide my kid's DOB but would be willing to provide the year he/she was born.